War on Terror
- Eleven Years Later, We Learned In Iraq That 'Tough' Isn't Enough
- Iraq invasion was about oil—"Maximising Persian Gulf oil flows to avert a potential global energy crisis motivated Iraq War planners - not WMD or democracy."
- This Just In From Our Sociopath Bureau—"Blow me, you monstrous, bloodthirsty fraud, you silly, stupid chickenhawk motherfker who plays army man with the children of people who are so much better than you are, and who would feed innocent civilians in lands you will never visit into your own personal meatgrinder to service your semi-annual martial erection."
- The CIA impunity challenge—"The intelligence agency — and the White House — are holding hostage the truth about torture."
- What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden—"Our supposed ally had a special desk devoted to managing Osama bin Laden. How can the U.S. fight extremism when we're unable to confront it where it really lives?" NYT
- At Trial, Son-in-Law Recalls a Cave Meeting With Bin Laden on 9/11 NYT
- U.S. Boycotts U.N. Drone Talks ForeignPolicy
- How a Comedy Article Got Me Placed On the No-Fly List
NSA Spying
- US tech giants knew of NSA data collection, agency's top lawyer insists—"NSA general counsel Rajesh De contradicts months of angry denials from big companies like Yahoo and Google."
- The NSA, invited to TED, takes a swipe at Snowden—"Snowden's actions 'show amazing arrogance,' and hurt 'legitimate whistleblowers.'" Just like there's "legitmate rape."
- Why Does the NSA Want to Keep Its Water Usage a Secret?
- Brazil to drop local data storage rule in Internet bill—"Brazil will drop a controversial provision that would have forced global Internet companies to store data on Brazilian users inside the country to shield them from U.S. spying...."
Transparency and Media
- US cites security more to censor, deny records—"More often than ever, the administration censored government files or outright denied access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding materials and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press."
- 'Most transparent' White House ever rewrote the FOIA to suppress politically sensitive docs
- Nearly half of federal agencies not complying with FOIA law, audit finds
- Journalist: McConnell Campaign Banned Me From Event For Asking Questions—Big mistake.
- Maine looks at officials' use of secret messaging—"If the practice exists for officials to get around public access-to-records laws – and testimony suggests it does – a LePage official says a ban may be needed."
- State offices ignore freedom of information laws—"Cuomo's office among 79 agencies that failed compliance check."
- NYPD counsel doubles down, rules freedom of information manual is confidential—"... citing attorney-client privilege."
Trial and Error
- Judge says prosecutors should follow the law. Prosecutors revolt.—"The profession seems allergic to accountability." WaPo
- Arkansas judge apologises for 'racist, sexist and homophobic' online comments
- Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers director held in contempt of court—"Masten appeared before Judge Victoria Brennan and said he was not willing to risk allowing a judge to determine whether any tip information should be disclosed." He put his money—in this case, his tip—where his mouth is to protect his sources.
Uncivil Forfeiture
- Deputy accused of illegal stops—"A rural Nevada sheriff's deputy is accused of stopping travelers on a lonely stretch of U.S. Interstate 80 and confiscating tens of thousands of dollars for the county without bringing charges, according to two federal lawsuits." Unsurprisingly, the sheriff is supportive of his thugs, but the county has surprisingly settled and the money is being returned.
- Police Allegedly Stole From Immigrants During New York Traffic Stops—"Officer caught by surveillance camera, according to authorities."
- Cops Use Traffic Stops To Seize Millions From Drivers Never Charged With A Crime
Flaw and Border
- Woman's Lawsuit Alleges Horrifying Abuse By Border Officers, Including Cavity Searches And Forced Bowel Movements
- Autopsy: American died of overdose in border cell—"An American citizen died of a methamphetamine overdose at a U.S. Border Patrol station near San Diego shortly after a paramedic thought he might be faking a seizure, an autopsy concluded."
- US Border Agents Intentionally Stepped in Front of Moving Vehicles to Justify Shooting at Them
- U.S. Border Agents Told to Be Less Aggressive Against Stone-Throwers—"The U.S. Border Patrol told its agents on Friday that when they confront suspected illegal immigrants crossing the frontier who throw rocks at them, they should try to take cover or move away rather than immediately open fire." How many Mexicans have been killed already? NYT
- DHS accused of holding U.S. citizen at airport, using emails to pry into her sex life—"The Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection is accused of detaining an Indiana woman at the airport without cause and then quizzing her about her sex life on knowledge the agents may have gained through the interception of private emails."
Bad Cops
- Windsor Locks fights order to reinstate fired cop—"Windsor Locks officials have decided to fight a state order to reinstate a police sergeant fired in 2012 for allegedly hindering an investigation into a fatal accident involving his son."
- Bastrop Sheriff: Supervisors Changed Records Of Deputy In Question
- Local cop's son and friend claimed to be police officers during violent home invasion
- Philly cop arrested, suspended for false imprisonment
- Cop Who Killed Kelly Thomas Gets Calmly Booted From Denny's by Other Patrons
Police State
- Justice Department Bad Boys: More Than 650 Cases of Misconduct Documented in 12-Year Period
- Federal judge blasts ATF stings—"A federal judge in Los Angeles blasted ATF for sting operations that he said unfairly enlist people in a 'made-up crime' by offering them a huge payday for robbing a non-existent drug stash house."
- FBI Ordered to Justify Shielding of Records Sought About Alleged 'Occupy' Sniper Plot WSJ
- Attorney General to State Police: Stop photographing protesters at Chris Christie town halls
- Kansas 'retaliation' bill would allow police to arrest people who complain about officers—"A Kansas bill being considered by the House Standing Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice would give police the power to arrest people who file complaints against officers if those allegations were proven false."
Civil Liberties
- Police halt Montgomery County commuters on I-270 to hunt for bank robbery suspects—Did the overblown tactical responde include warrantless car searches? WaPo
- Feds raid gun parts stores despite court order—"With a search warrant in hand, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confiscated computers, customer lists and the questionable polymer 80 percent lower receivers from four Ares Armor store locations throughout San Diego County over the weekend."
- Missouri Moves To Ban Use Of Cellphone Tracking Without Warrants
- Reports of the Death of a National License-Plate Tracking Database Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
- Los Angeles Cops Argue All Cars in LA Are Under Investigation—"The agencies took a novel approach in the briefs they filed in EFF and the ACLU of Southern California's California Public Records Act lawsuit seeking a week's worth of Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) data. They have argued that 'All [license plate] data is investigatory.' The fact that it may never be associated with a specific crime doesn't matter."
Brutality
- Chicago Police Cannot Keep Complaints Of Brutality Secret Anymore, Court Rules
- Delco man: Tasered by police after suffering seizure—"Chester authorities are investigating an incident in which a man alleges that a Chester police officer used a Taser on him when he had just suffered a seizure - puncturing his lung - and later arrested him for allegedly assaulting an officer and medic."
- NJ 'computer geek' latest to file beating claim against Harrah's A.C. security
Shooting
- Shoot first, ask questions later method puts former Beckville resident in Alabama hospital
- No charges in shooting of Ga. Alzheimer's patient
- Former cop accused of shooting and killing moviegoer over texting was texting himself
- Man shot and killed by deputies identified, was not subject of warrant that led to chase—"It's our understanding that the man exited the vehicle with a knife."
- Dog on leash shot and killed by York deputy
Prison
- FBI Investigates Prison Company—"The FBI has launched an investigation of the Corrections Corporation of America over the company's running of an Idaho prison with a reputation so violent that inmates dubbed it 'Gladiator School.'"
- We Must Stop Throwing People Away
- Horrific conditions described in homeless man's death at Burlington County Jail
- NYC inmate 'baked to death' in cell WaPo
Innocence
- Freedom After 30 Years on Death Row—"A case involving a black man convicted by an all-white jury in Louisiana decades ago may be reopened."
- Bloodsworth: I was on death row, and I was innocent
- Essex County authorities' mistake puts innocent man in jail for 27 days—"'We know it was some sort of human error, but we don't know where it occurred,' said Kathy Carter, spokesperson for Essex County Prosecutor's Office." Non-apology.
- Man jailed based on mistaken identity can't sue, court rules—"A man jailed in Los Angeles County for a month because he was mistaken for someone with the same name and birth date lost a legal effort Wednesday to hold law enforcement agencies responsible for the mix-up." Justice denied.
Traffic
- Caught on camera: SAPD officer arrests woman waiting for bus, but why?
- Speed trap city accused of corruption, threatened with extinction
- Keller PD using social media to post speed trap alerts
- 500 trees along I-5 will be removed for cameras
- Five DWI Cases Thrown Out After Judges Rule NYPD Set Up Illegal Checkpoints
Recording
- Jurors acquit Little Canada man who videotaped deputies, paramedics
- Temple student sues Philly cops over photo incident—"A Temple University photojournalism student and his girlfriend are suing two Philadelphia police officers who they say wrongly arrested them in 2012 while he was photographing a neighbor's arrest in Point Breeze."
- Mass. Man Charged With Wiretapping For Filming Police In Public—"A man in Fall River, Mass. has been charged with unlawful wiretapping for recording a police officer shouting profanities in public."
- Florida man sues cop who arrested him for videotaping officers arresting another man
- Denver Officers Won't Be Able To Delete Body Camera Video
- Cameras on cops: Coming to a town near you
- New city police policy says public has right to film officers
- St. Louis Man Records Cops Black Mailing Him Into Framing Someone For A Weapons Charge!
- Roadside adventures with small-town cops in Electra, Texas—"I verbally objected to an unconstitutional search of my vehicle in Electra, Texas. Police officers Matt Wood and Gary Ellis maliciously responded by issuing me two false citations. I got a copy of the dashboard-camera video at the pretrial hearing. It showed all. City attorney Todd Greenwood demanded I give my copy of the evidence back, and tried to have me arrested when I refused."
